Latch construction



March 18 1924'. 1,487,313

E. 0. BULMAN LATCH cbnswaucnou Filed March 29. 1921 E \uahO. Bmmom ELVAH O. BULE'IAN, F GRAND RAPIDS,

MICHIGAN.

LATCH CONEIJRUCTION.

Application filed March 29, 1921. Serial No.

T 0 all whom z't may concern J Be it known that l, Ewan O. Bulletin, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a latch. The latch which I have constructed is primarily designed for kitchen cabinets or like articles of furniture, though not in any sense limited in use thereto, and it is an object of the invention to make a latch having the least number of parts, very economical to make, and yet one which is particularly effective in use and operation. The invention consists in various novel constructions and arrangements of parts for attaining these ends, and in particular in a novel construction of combined'latch lever and handle in which the weight of the handle helps to naturally carry the lever to operative latching position with reference to the catch or strike therefor, and in which the handle when the lever is engaged with said strikecovers the same and causes the latch to present a much better appearance. i

For an understanding of the invention by means of which these results are secured, as

well as others not specifically enumerated.

at thistime, referencemay be had to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which, Fig. 1 1s a side elevation of the latch Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawmg. I

In the construction of the latch a casing of sheet metal is used to which a combined latch lever and handle is pivotally connected,

the same also and a strike completes the same, it also being of sheet metal. Three pieces of sheet metal are all that is needed-for the entire latch construction, all easily cut and formed by means of dies.

In use, the strike is attached to the door jamb or casing, indicated at 1, and the casing of the latch with its attached latch lever and operating handle is attached to the front side of thedoor 2 so that the end of the latch lever passes across the meeting edges of they door and casing. The latch casing has a front side 3 from which at its side edges, sides 1 are turned, upper and lower ends 5 being likewiseturned inwardly in the same direction and thence turned outwardly to form ears 6 through which attaching screws 7 may pass for the attachment of the latch casing to the door.

One of the sides a has a vertical slot 8 cut therethrough for the passage 1 of the latch lever 9, a bar of flat metal which is pivotally connected to the rear side of the front 3 of the casing at its inner end, as indicated at 10. At the outer end of the latch bar,

a handle portion is extended upwardly from the upper edge thereof and formed into a substantially U-shaped bend 11, which is extended downwardly and formed into a handie 12 which may be of the shape shown or any other desired design. I The strike which is attached to the door jamb 1 includes a base 13 through which attaching screws 1 1 are passed into said jamb, and an outwardly extending arm 15, the outer end of which is made into a hook 16, the inner side of which has a downwardly and inwardly inclined slant, as indicated at 17. The outer side of the hook has an upward and inward incline over which the projecting end of the latch lever rides automatically when the door is closed, dropping back of the oppositely inclined rear side 17, thereby tending to draw the door tightly to closed position.

It is evident that the weight of the handle at the extreme outer end of the latch lever 9 has a very marked tendency to carry the lever downwardly where it engages the strike and helps to draw the door tightly shut. It is also apparent that the handle covers the end of the strike when the door is closed, as shown in Fig. 2, this adding to the ap earance of the construction. Moreover t e latch construction is of the being made of sheet metal,

very simplest construction, the number of parts being reduced to a minimum, all of which are made from sheet metal stock which is easily blanked and formed by dies. To open the door it is merely necessary to grasp the handle and elevate the same, this raising the latch lever above the strike and disassociating it therefrom. v

In Fig. 5, a slight modification is shown in that a spring 18 is interposed between the upper side of the latch casing and the latch lever which, shown at is modified to provide an upwardly projecting lugli) around which the lower end of. the spring 18 may pass to hold the spring in place. This spring is of value in forcing the end of the latch lever into lower position back of the strike hook l6 and in more tightly closing the door. Such spring in practice is not essential in many cases, but if desired, the structure of the latch is such as to make the use of the spring very easy when it is needed.

In Fig. 4, a still further modification is shown, the front side of the latch casing inclining downwardly and outwardly and the slot 8 likewise being inclined from the vertical so that the latch lever instead of mov-- ing in a vertical planemoves in a plane at an angle to the vertical. The rear side of the hook 16 of the strike may be made vertical, as indicated at 17, instead of at an incline to the vertical as shown at 17 in Fig. 1, the downward movement of the latch lever coupled with its simultaneous outward movement servlng to move the door inwardly to tightly closed position.

l/Vith the construction shown in Fig. 4, the spring 18 may be used, if desired, the same as it is shown in Fig. 5. In all of the forms shown, the latch lever and handle are made from one piece of metal and the handle is located at the extreme outer end of the handle and over the door jamb and the strike connected thereto, this being of value also from the additional space coming from such position for the hand of the operator in unlatching the door for opening. The construction is simple and economical insaeie to make, is durable, has no parts to get out of order, and in every way is an especially practical and serviceable construction and one which presents a very pleasing and attractive appearance.

I claim:

1. In combination, a door and a casing therefor, a strike on the casing, a latch lever pivotally mounted at one end on the door, said lever at its free end being formed with an upwardly projecting substantially llshaped portion, the outer free leg of which is extended downwardly ant. formed into a handle which covers said strike when the door is in closed position.

2. In combination, a door and a casing therefor, a strike connected to the door casing provided with an outwardly extending arm formed at its outer end with an upwardly extending hooked portion, a latch lever pivotally mounted on the door and extending at its free end beyond the edge of the door, and a handle on the free end of the lever, said handle extending upwardly from the lever and then being turned down wardly and covering the strike when the latch lever is engaged tl1erewith,-substantially as described.

3. In combination, a door and a casing therefor, a strike attached to the door casing having an outwardly projecting arm terminating in an upwardly extending hooked portion, a latch casing attached to the door adjacent the free vertical edge thereof, said latch casing having a downwardly and outwardly inclined front and inwardly extending sides, a latch lever pivotally mounted inside the casing at one end to the front of said latch casing and extending outwardly through a slot in a vertical side of the latch casing beyond the edge of the door, and a handle integral with the free end of the lever and extending from the upper edge thereoi and being turned downwardly in front of the free end of said lever, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ELVAH O. BULMAN. 

